Dark Beginnings
by IronDirewolf
Summary: After being forced from their lakeside territory, ShadowClan and their leader Snakestar search for a new territory. But their search leads them to a surprising place, filled with many dangers. Can Snakestar rebuild his clan to it's former glory?
1. Allegiances

**Allegiances**

* * *

><p><strong>ShadowClan<strong>

**Leader  
><strong>Snakestar- Dark brown tabby tom with long tail and blue eyes  
><em>Apprentice: Mintpaw<em>

**Deputy  
><strong>Crowfoot- Black tom with white feet and blue eyes

**Medicine Cat  
><strong>Brownfeather- Thin brown tom with green eyes

**Warriors  
><strong>Bluetail- Blue-grey she-cat with amber eyes

Cindertooth- Dark grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Sixclaw- Big pure white tom with six toes on one front foot

Littlestorm- Brown tom with black spots and green eyes  
><em>Apprentice: Mudpaw<em>

Pinenose- Ginger she-cat with green eyes

Webpelt- Grey tom with black stripes and blue eyes

Spottedfur- Tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

Frogleap- Brown and white tabby tom with long legs

Ravenwing- Black she-cat with a white chest and belly

Cloudyfur- Grey and white she-cat with blue eyes

**Apprentices  
><strong>Mintpaw- Black she-cat with green eyes

Mudpaw- Skinny brown tom with amber eyes

**Queens  
><strong>Sorrelheart- Tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Crowfoot's kits

Emberfur- Ginger and white tabby she-cat, mother of Webpelt's kits (Cedarkit-golden tabby tom, Aspenkit-pale grey she-cat, Shortkit-small grey tabby she-cat)

**Elders  
><strong>Frostclaw- Grey tom with white splotches

Leaf-fur- Brown tabby she-cat with a white belly, former medicine cat

* * *

><p><strong>ThunderClan<strong>

**Leader  
><strong>Twiststar- Mottled brown tom with a permanently twisted tail

* * *

><p><strong>WindClan<strong>

**Leader  
><strong>Rabbitstar- Dusty brown tom with long legs and blue eyes

* * *

><p><strong>RiverClan<strong>

**Leader  
><strong>Splashstar- Lithe blue-grey she-cat with grey eyes


	2. Prolouge

Thick clumps of white snow rushed away from the swollen grey clouds hanging in the sky, obscuring the view across a wide lake, which was slowly freezing as the ground became covered with the white particles. It was deathly quiet; not even the trees whispered, as there was no wind this night. Just the impenetrable white wall that fell from the sky. The pine trees surrounding one side of the lake seemed to shrink away from the cold and the snow, drawing their boughs closer together, keeping their needles pressed tight to their limbs as snow gathered on them.  
>Below, a black tom cat marched through the gathering snow, his white paws seemingly swallowed up by the icy dust that covered the ground. A growl rose in his throat as he lashed his tail. "Mouse dung," the tom muttered, flicking his paws as he wandered into a deeper drift, "this is ridiculous . Absolutely terrible Gathering weather. Must we go now, Snakestar?" For a moment, the black tom's words hang in the air, their only answer silence. Then, another cat padded from the shelter of the pines, shaking out his brown pelt as snow fell on his striped back.<br>"Ridiculous indeed, Crowfoot," the newcomer answered, coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with the black tom, his gaze narrowing as he looked out across the lake. Hazy forms could be seen making their way towards an island located near the middle of the lake. "But it seems our mouse-brained neighbors are still determined to have this moon's Gathering."

Crowfoot snorted. "They're crazy," he meowed out loud, wrinkling his nose as his eyes followed the movement of a small group of cats as they crossed from the shore to the island across a fallen tree. "Surely you do not expect ShadowClan to attend tonight?" The tabby sighed at his clan mate's words.  
>"Yes, Crowfoot, I do expect Shadowclan to attend." As soon as the words left Snakestar's mouth, Crowfoot rounded on him with harsh eyes and an ignorant question on his tongue. But Snakestar lashed out in turn, his eyes like shards of amber as he held back his barely contained temper. "Let me finish," he growled, lashing his tail back and forth, "ShadowClan will be attending, yes. But only you, my brother and I will be attending. Brownfeather is back at camp, distributing traveling herbs to our Clanmates."<br>"So...you are set on leaving, Snakestar?" Crowfoot asked, all traces of anger vanishing, replaced quickly by suprise. Snakestar lowered his head slightly, letting out a loud sigh. When he looked back up, his young face seemed to have aged.  
>"Yes. Dead set, Crowfoot. I'm sorry I did not tell you earlier; I didn't mean to keep such controversial news from you, my deputy. But I was visiting with Brownfeather early this morning, and he had a vision. This was even worse than the first one he had. This one promised so much more Shadowclan blood be spilt...So yes. It is time for ShadowClan to leave the lake, before the other 3 Clans finally kill the rest of us."<p>

* * *

><p>The scent of many cats mingled in the air as their voices did the same under the cover of trees on the island. A clearing located in the middle of the island was nearly empty; only the warriors with the fluffiest coats and the bravest apprentices were sitting or frolicking on the frozen ground, the younger cats flinging clumps of snow at each other. Three cats were perched up in the lowest branches of a large oak tree situated at the front of the clearing.<br>"Where in the name of StarClan is ShadowClan?" muttered one of the cats, a brown tom. His skinny frame was trembling in the cold, but he held his head up defiantly, drawing his tail around his paws.  
>"Probably sleeping back in their camp, the mangy crow-food eaters," growled another tom cat, this one a big mottled brown. His tail was held awkwardly over the edge of the branch he sat in with the other brown tom, it's length not straight like normal, but kinked in the middle.<br>"What if something has happened to them?" Asked a pretty blue she-cat, glancing up at the two toms perched in the branch above her. The one with the kinked tail snorted, and said,  
>"Who cares, Splashstar? The less ShadowClan cats there are, the more territory for our clans." Here, the tom dropped his voice to a whisper, "And besides. Isn't that what we were <em>hoping<em> for? That was the point of our attack a couple sunrises ago. There is no room for a weak clan like ShadowClan. We will eliminate them."  
>"Hush, Twiststar," the dusty brown tom growled, flicking his tail angrily. "Do you want every cat in the clearing to hear you? The coup against ShadowClan was ordered to be swift and efficient. We don't want a war on our paws." Again, Twiststar snorted.<br>"Whatever you say, Rabbitstar. ThunderClan will not starve, though. We have more mouths to feed than them."  
>Perhaps because your clan slaughtered over half of their warriors, Rabbitstar thought, shaking his head and turning his gaze from the ThunderClan leader. ThunderClan had been dignified and honorable in the past; all of that seemed to have changed completely under Twiststar's leadership. And yet StarClan had not intervened...<br>"Well, we aren't getting anything accomplished by sitting here and letting our fur freeze," Splashstar muttered, before standing up on her branch, puffing out her chest in preparation for a loud yowl that would draw everyone's attention. But before she could call out, a different voice let out a yowl, this one deep and commanding, a growl fiercly erupting at the end. All chatter ceased, and cats poked their heads out from the shelter of the trees. The apprentices who were playing in the middle of the clearing froze at the sound of the angry yowl, then bolted into the shelter of the trees, seeking out their clanmates. From a gap in the trees came three cats, a dark brown tabby flanked by a black tom at his right, and a skinny brown tom on his left. The tabby in the middle narrowed his eyes as he stalked into the middle of the clearing; the black cat at his side whipped his head from side to side, glaring at any cat who looked their way. The skinny brown tom padded along silently, his head slightly lowered.  
>"Nice of you to finally join us, Snakestar," sneered Twiststar as he stood up on his branch. "Where is the rest of your mangy clan?"<br>The brown tabby tom stopped in the middle of the clearing, flattening his ears and letting out a loud and angry hiss. "Half of them are in StarClan. And you pathetic excuses for leaders should know- they died at the paws of your fox-hearted warriors." Angry exclamations broke out all around the clearing as warriors of RiverClan, WindClan, and ThunderClan hissed and yowled at the ShadowClan leader. But Snakestar did not rise to their accusations and jibes; he stared defiantly ahead, hatred glowing brightly in his amber eyes. "The rest of our clan," the tabby tom snarled as he stalked closer to the giant tree and the leaders of the other clans, "are back at camp, preparing. ShadowClan is leaving the lake."

Finally, silence gripped the clearing. Twiststar, Rabbitstar, and Splashstar stared down at the ShadowClan leader, dumbfounded. Snakestar snorted at their surprised reactions; he knew this is what they had wanted. His amber gaze traveled from them to the sky above- clear, as the snow clouds had vanished. The moon and stars glinted coldly above him, with no sign of dulling.

Then ShadowClan's destiny was set.

With a furious growl, Snakestar turned his gaze back to the leaders in the tree. "For moons, the four Clans lived in the forest. For moons, the four Clans have lived by the lake. And now your greed has changed everything. Four will become three; ShadowClan walks alone now."

Up in the tree, Twiststar laughed. "Snakestar, you fool. Four Clans will remain at the lake. StarClan is with us. You think they would follow traitors such as yourselves?"  
>Snakestar heard paws scrabbling behind him; Brownfeather had padded forward, his pelt bristling and tail lashing back and forth wildly. "Traitors?" he growled, stamping a paw into the ground, "You dare call us traitors, you fox-hearted piece of filth?" Before his brother could let out another raging insult, Snakestar comfortingly placed his tail around the medicine cat's shoulders. He was surprised to find his brother trembling; Brownfeather had <em>never <em>been this angry.  
>"It's alright, Brownfeather," he mewed softly, gently pushing his brother back towards Crowfoot, who still stood glaring around the clearing behind Snakestar. "I'll handle this." With a shamed look, Brownfeather turned away, looking defeated. But Snakestar whipped back towards the other leaders; he refused to give them the satisfaction of letting Brownfeather losed his temper in front of them. "No, Twiststar," he finally growled, "you are the traitors. Destroying moons of peace to satisfy your blood lust. StarClan will never forgive you."<p>

Splashstar and Rabbitstar shook their heads, but said nothing. Snakestar glanced back up at them, waiting to see if they would change their minds, if they would beg for his forgiveness. But Snakestar received nothing but stony silence. "Curse you, cats of ThunderClan, RiverClan, and WindClan." he growled. "The ShadowClan blood will never be cleaned from your paws. And you will never have my forgiveness." With a flick of his tail, Snakestar gathered his deputy and medicine cat and stormed out of the clearing, never looking back, even as commotion exploded behind him.

He never looked back, even as his paws left the bark of the tree bridge. He never looked back, even as the pine needles tickled his pads as he entered ShadowClan's territory- ShadowClan's _old _territory. He never looked back, even as he gathered the ragged members of ShadowClan around him, and began the trek out of the forest.

Soon, the lake faded from view completely.

He never looked back.


	3. Chapter 1

Like the sound of a piece sandpaper brushing over another, bristly spindles of wheat pushed lightly against each other, producing a slight sighing sound as the wind blew through the plants. To the left and right, the wheat field seemed to stretch on for as far as the eye could see. To the north, the faint outline of trees were beginning to peek above the horizon; beyond them, the very hazy shape of land forms that might be mountains. And to the south, the wheat fields began to thin out to rolling plains, covered in grass and the occasional boulder or bush. Lying about were a group of cats, most huddled close together in tight bundles. Some roamed around the group, carrying in plump mice they had captured from the fields. Sounds of joy rose from the group as a small black she-cat emerged from the wall of wheat stalks, dragging a rabbit across the ground that was nearly as big as she was.

"Good job, Mintpaw." The black she-cat turned her attention from her purring Clanmates, who were now busy dividing up the kill between themselves, and glanced behind her. A dark brown tabby tom leaped down from a large boulder and landed lightly next to the younger cat. His long tail flicked happily as he nudged the she-cat's forehead with his black nose. The black she-cat blinked in surprise, then shuffled her paws nervously.

"I...thank you, Snakestar. I appreciate the compliment," she said. The tom chuckled.

"Sorry, Mintpaw. I guess you're not used to this, huh? It's been awhile since any of us have been...happy." Mintpaw hesitated, her head slightly lowered.

"Yes, it has been awhile," she murmured. Snakestar sighed internally; Mintpaw was never one to talk so formally, even if he was the Clan leader. He supposed the young she-cat, who had only been made an apprentice a moon before ShadowClan's journey began, was still mourning her mentor's death. Snakestar lowered his head so that his nose touched the black furred apprentice's forehead.

"Crowfoot was one of my best friends, little one. I mourn his death as well. But I promise you I will try my best to finish your training," the ShadowClan leader mewed. Lifting his head, Snakestar twisted his body around and nudged Mintpaw's side with his own. "Although, that mangy old tom did a very good job sharpening your hunting skills before he left us," Snakestar joked, twitching his whiskers happily, "Go ahead, rest, and get yourself something to eat. I figure we'll start out again once every one has eaten." The she-cat allowed herself a small smile, dipping her head respectfully to her leader and new mentor. Then, she turned, padding off to join ShadowClan's other apprentice, Mudpaw, who was gathered around the remains of the rabbit carcass.  
>Snakestar sat, curling his long tail around his paws as he surveyed the group. He allowed himself a quiet sigh. For the first time in a long time, his Clan was happy. The wheat field offered plenty of fresh kill made fat from the abundance of food, the large rocks, nearly radiating heat off of them, tempted his warriors with lovely spots to warm their pelts. Moreso, the sun was shining, a breeze was blowing...everything a happy warrior could wish for was <em>here<em>, right under their paws.  
>He hated to make them leave. But his Clan never lived in a wide open field, nor would they;he'd leave the dangerously uncovered territory to the flea-pelted mongrels of WindClan.<p>

Suddenly, a flash of black and orange caught Snakestar's eye; he had been staring, unknowingly, into the group of cats gathered around Mintpaw, as he dove deep into his reverie. A tortoiseshell she-cat broke free of the group, licking her lips and then lapping at a ruffled tuft of orange fur on her chest. Mid-lick, she looked up, amber eyes meeting his blue. Immediately, Snakestar turned his glance away, groaning inwardly. The black and orange tortoiseshell, Sorrelheart, narrowed her eyes. Before the she-cat could accuse him of staring, Snakestar scrambled to his paws, nearly tripping over his own tail in the process. He hopped onto the nearest rock, and let out a shaky yowl. Immediately, the tom felt embarrassed, and the eyes of his warriors turned to him. Swallowing, Snakestar cleared his throat, and steadied his voice. "Cats of ShadowClan, while this respite has been welcome, we must move on. It's unsafe to stay out in the open, especially when night comes. Take a few more minutes to finish your meals, then gather around this rock."

A few grumbles arose from the cats scattered around the clearing, but it could be seen that the weary ShadowClan warriors were moving to obey their leader. Scanning the clearing, Snakestar found his eyes drawn yet again to Sorrelheart's black and orange pelt. She was talking to Emberfur, ShadowClan's oldest queen, as her three kits scampered around the ginger she-cat and her den-mate. Sorrelheart's stomach bulged, not with an excess amount of food, but with her own unborn kits. With a stab of grief, Snakestar remembered his own deputy, Crowfoot, who has also been Sorrelheart's mate.  
>This time, guilt made the ShadowClan leader's heart ache. He shouldn't be this attracted to her. She had just lost her partner, the father to her kits...and here he was, mooning after her like a freshly made apprentice.<br>...but then again...ever since Snakestar had been an apprentice himself...he'd been attracted to the pretty she-cat. After his brother Brownfeather changed his mind to become a medicine cat a moon into their apprenticeship, Snakestar had been lonely. The two brothers had practically been attached at the hip since birth, and then Brownfeather's paws had lead him down a path that was strange and mysterious to the young Snakepaw. Back then, he never understood why he would want to abandon the battle field in favor of hunting for herbs instead of mice. Then, the leader-to-be befriended a young female apprentice who recieved her apprentice name three moons after he did. Sorrelheart, Sorrelpaw, had been an adventurous she-cat. Although greatly outsized by her denmate, she never backed down from any challenge Snakestar threw at her. She easily matched his hunting skills, surpassed his ability to follow scents. But when it came to fighting, Snakestar had her beat. However, the differences never drove the duo apart; it inspired genial competition, and as the two apprentices grew into strong warriors, a bond of friendship kindled brightly between the two.

...and then Crowfoot stepped into the picture, his snow white paws sweeping Sorrelheart off her feet. How could Snakestar disprove? The handsome black tom made her happy, made Sorrelheart's eyes sparkle like Snakestar was rarely able to do himself.

So he let her go.

And now he could do nothing but wistfully stare after her.

Which he shouldn't do. Definitely not. It...wasn't right. How cold and inconsiderate would he look moving in to try and claim the she-cat as his own right after her first mate had _died_?

So he had to stop staring. "Right this moment," Snakestar hissed to himself.

Finally, Snakestar brought himself back to reality. He didn't have anymore time to waste reminiscing on the past. He had a homeless, hungry Clan to lead in the present. When it seemed that all of his warriors were gathered around the rock, Snakestar jumped to the ground. After casting a final glance around him, the tabby tom waved his long tail, then bounded off to the north, where green trees towered above the horizon, hopefully a place where the tired ShadowClan cats would finally find solace.


End file.
